I am in posession of paintings that depict many WW2 scenes, including Wildflecken, Kreuzberg and other military and DP's scenes. Writing on the backs
of these are in French.
I believe some have the word Aschaffenburg also; but it hard to read the cursive writing
The artist is signed F.O. Kaufmann. Someone has written saying they believe the artist is Fritz Otto Kaufmann, but I still can't find any information on him.
I will update you if I find out anything. Any help you could give is appreciated.
Thank you, Denise Ebert, Baltimore, MD, USA debert25@comcast.net
See replies below watercolors.
Prof. Fritz Otto Kaufmann left many traces in Bad Brueckenau, the place he lived for many years. Prof. Kaufmann was born 16 December 1899 in Erfurt (Thuringia) where he also attended an art college. After WW 1, he went to universities in Halle (Saxonia) and Berlin to become an art teacher. After graduation, he went back to his hometown and taught art at a local school. He also became an assistant of several distinguished art historians and worked in the field of preservation of historic fresco paintings and worked for the department for preservation of ancient monuments.
Having already served in the German military in WW1, he had to go to war a second time in WW2. After the war, he went to the spa city of Bad Brueckenau where he taught art at the Franz Miltenberger school. His hometown of Erfurt was located in the Soviet-occupied zone, which later became the communist "German Democratic Republic of Germany" DDR. In order to live in a free country, he went to the American-occupied zone, in which Bad Brueckenau was located. Here he also worked as an restorer of historic fresco paintings in local churches.
Besides restoring ancient artwork, he did his own as well. He created paintings and frescos for various churches such like the Volkersberg monastery, an outdoor altar at the church of Marien Ehrenberg and a war memorial for the village of Kothen. He also worked as an art-architectural advisor for new buildings and renovations throughout the district of Franconia.
In 1966 Prof. Kaufmann retired from teaching but kept working as director of the local Bad Brueckenau Heritage Museum which he helped found several years before until 1979. Prof. Kaufmann died 5 November 1991 at age 92. His artwork lives on today, especially the fresco paintings he made for several local churches, oil paintings he created for the monasteries of Volkersberg and Kreuzberg, as well as for the spa-hall in Bad Brueckenau which remain up to today. One of the most famous artworks of Prof. Kaufmann is a huge mosaic he created for the lobby of the spa-treatment-building (a facility where treatments with healing water are conducted) in Bad Brueckenau. When this building was torn down in 1998, it was agreed to preserve the mosaic. A restorer who specialized in this field took the mosaic down and stored it piece by piece in wooden boxes. It took until September 2006 to find a new place for this mosaic. Now the mosaic that shows the Greek spa-goddes is finally on display in the "Siebener-Park" in Bad Brueckenau, not to far from its original location.
I hope most of it makes any sense to you. If you ever think of visiting the area: *** commercial on: "Talk to the people of BORDERTOURS. They offer full service: Pick up from airport, hotel, transportation, English speaking guide - everything!!!! They will even create a special Prof. Kaufmann tour - just for you! www.bordertours.com <http://www.bordertours.com> ****** commercial off. :-))Merry X-mas and a happy new year,
Heinz Sergeant_L@t-online.de
12/19/06 Denise:
Thanks for contacting me so quickly. I think these watercolors
were done while my father was prisoner of war in France. I know that
he was assigned a driver and could go to Paris to buy material for his
paintings. I know from him that the folks in charge of the prison
asked the prisoners about their occupation and assigned them some
work: cook - cook, carpenter - do woodwork. My father
studied art and art history, so he was assigned to work as
a painter. I believe he did also some portraits. The American
flag seems to indicate that the pictures were done in France.
I would love to see more of the pictures that you obtained
at an auction. If it is possible, please scan some of the text als,
perhaps I can read and translate it.
Happy Holidays to you,
Renate Staub
19 Dec 2006
fritz otto kaufmann was my grandfather, if you need informations about him i will tell my aunt to translate some articles
for you. i would be happy, if it's possible, to get soft copys of your watercolor paintings.
greetings from bavaria germany
mit freundlichen Grüßen
best regards
Andreas Hohmann